Backers of new Missouri casino file lawsuit hoping to get on statewide ballot

A group hoping to build a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing it collected more than enough signatures to earn a spot on the November ballot. 

The Osage River Gaming & Convention Committee is asking a judge to reverse a decision by the Missouri secretary of state’s office that its initiative petition did not qualify for the statewide ballot because it was short 2,031 signatures in the 2nd Congressional District. 

The proposal collected enough signatures in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th districts. 

The group claims it has identified more than 2,500 valid signatures that were rejected and should have been counted in the 2nd District. 

“Verifying every signature on multiple initiative petitions this summer has been a very long process for election officials and we realize mistakes happen,” the group said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “However, (Osage River Gaming & Convention) has always been confident their initiative petition contained a sufficient number of valid signatures from legal voters to qualify for placement on the Nov. 5 general election ballot and are now asking the court to do so.”

The proposal would amend the Missouri Constitution to allow a casino along the Osage River between Bagnell Dam and the confluence with the Missouri River. The constitution currently authorizes casinos only along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

It would also override a state law limiting the state to 13 licensed casinos, passed in 2008 as a result of an initiative sponsored by casino operators.

The Lake of the Ozarks is one of Missouri’s busiest tourism destinations. The casino proposal is being bankrolled by Bally’s, which currently operates a casino in Kansas City, and RIS Inc., a major regional developer. Each has contributed about half of the $4.1 million raised for the petition drive.

The proposal is being pushed in response to a casino development announced in 2021 by the Osage Nation, the Native American tribe that the river is named for. That project, a $60 million development, includes construction of a casino, hotel and convention center.

Backers of the initiative effort say their casino project will  provide 700 to 800 jobs.

According to the ballot summary, the casino is expected to produce admission and fee revenue of $2.1 million annually, money that is split with the local government with jurisdiction over the site and the Missouri Gaming Commission. The tax on casino net winnings is projected to be about $14.3 million annually.

New gambling tax revenue would be earmarked to early childhood literacy programs in public schools.